Pedestrian safety

The key message here is going to be  Stop! Look! Listen! Think! every time you cross the road. Don't assume a driver has seen you, as road users pedestrians also have a responsibility for their own safety.

I spend a huge amount of time in the car driving around suburban streets and I am absolutely bewildered at the number of people young and old that do not consider their own safety when stepping on the road.  Stop! Look! Listen! Think! every time you cross the road, includes when you're crossing at dedicated pedestrian crossings. 

I am here to remind you there are a lot more distractions inside cars today than 10 or 20 years ago. iPhones were first available in Australia around 2008 but not in common use for a few years after that and nowhere near as integrated into our lives for a few more years after that. We check our phones more than 96 times per day, on average.

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite our attempts to curb our phone use, we're connected to our phones more than ever. Americans now check their phones 96 times a day – that's once every 10 minutes, according to new research by global tech care company Asurion1. That's a 20 percent daily increase from a similar survey conducted by Asurion two years ago1.

I just did a quick google and that's what I found, Unbelievable! right? That is about 3 times during a 30 minute drive, which changes from Unbelievable to SCARY! 

Now, when you pair that with the attention span of less than 9 seconds it goes from scary to down right dangerous!

The average human has an attention span of just 8.25 seconds according to recent studies – 4.25 seconds less than in 2000.

LINK to the article

So, as a pedestrian you CAN NOT assume a driver will see you, don't put your safety and well being in the hands of a stranger. Ask yourself "how good is the average driver in Sydney?"  Now the answer might range from not too bad to terrible. And that is who you are entrusting your safety to each time you cross the road without following all the steps   Stop! Look! Listen! Think! Even good drivers are not perfect 100% of the time. 

Now, ask yourself, are you willing to put your personal safety in the hands of a stranger? 

As a pedestrian you may be in the RIGHT after being hit by a car, but at what cost. What injury with you have to endure, there is no satisfaction in being in the right and laid up in hospital with an injury that may affect you permanently. 

Don't forget to  Stop! Look! Listen! Think! every time you cross the road!